Dreaming of Reality
by Saphreanna Grea
Summary: The Doctor and Amy are in trouble as the Dreamlord finds a way to gain control. The Ood reach out to the only person they know can help.
1. Chapter 1

Hi peoples, this is kinda my first fanfiction. I hope you like it.

I don't own Doctor Who

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A dragging sensation pulling her forwards into the nothingness. Strains of music whisper to her. She registers that the music speaks of Freedom and Ice and something else…something familiar.

The nothingness wanted to keep her but she decided that the music was friendlier and started to move towards it, helping it pull her out of the void.

The void gripped her tighter and she wondered if she would ever leave this hell but the music grew stronger and pulled her out of the nothingness and into the cold snow and Freedom promised.


	2. Chapter 2

Blackness was an overwhelming relief from the void.

Rose Tyler opened here eyes to the dull light in the cave. The cave was shaped from ice but it wasn't freezing. A fire sat in the middle and figures sat around.

As Rose sat up she realised that she was wrapped in a warm coat with fur trimmings around the cuffs and hood. Looking down from the ledge that was her temporary bed, she found black boots that had velvet feel to them. Slipping them on, she got up and made her way towards the circle.

One of the figures stood up and turned to meet her and she realised it was an Ood. John, the half human, half time lord Doctor, had told her about the Ood Sphere and the enslavement of the Ood. He had told her of the red eye and the rabid Ood that fought for their freedom and the compassion of the Ood, focused on an Ood named Sigma. He had told her that he and Donna had helped to prevent the genocide that Mr Halpen had planned for them.

As the approaching Ood got closer, she had the feeling that he was the same Ood Sigma that John had told her about. _Oh John…_

"We are sorry for your loss," the Ood intoned, his communication ball lighting up.

John had died two years before. He had lived for sixty years with her, growing old with her, like he had promised all those years ago on Bad Wolf bay. In fact, she should be in a hospital bed, dying of old age and a broken heart. Something was off.

Looking down at her hands, she realised that the skin was young and supple, not old and wrinkled like she had been expecting. Looking up to the Ood, she asked, "Did you do this, bring me here and make me young again?"

"Indeed, Rose Tyler. We are sorry for this but the Doctor is in danger and we believe that you may be the only one that could help him. We waited until the Doctor with you had died and you were dying yourself to bring you over as this would aid your transport." The Ood tilted his head to the side as she processed what he said.

"So I'm in my original universe?" Rose asked hesitantly, "And Doctor is in trouble?"

"Indeed." The Ood confirmed.

"Nothing changes then," Rose said with a smile. A thought struck her. "Why are you trying to help him?"

The Ood blinked at her before replying. "We wish to repay his kindness to us."

Studying him, Rose believed him to be sincere and she finally asked him. "You're Sigma aren't you? The one that John told me about."

Ood Sigma inclined his head in affirmation and Rose smiled at him. "Lead on, we have a Doctor to save." She said with confidence.

Sigma led Rose to the circle where two places were left for them.

"Rose Tyler, the elders would see you now," he said to her and waited in silence for her to sit before taking his place beside her.

Opening her mind like John taught her to, the silent cave came alive with beautiful psychic sound.

"So," she said, "tell me about the Doctor."


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow. I actually found this chapter a lot harder to write, but I think that's just because I'm not as familiar with the 11th Doctor and Amy. Oh and if you spot any errors please point them out so I can bzzzt them. I also forgot to mention that this is set sometime after cold blood. :)**

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"Amy Pond, welcome to Bellus!" the Doctor exclaimed, spinning in a circle with his arms outstretched and a wide grin on his face.

Amy looked around. They had stepped out into a street that was kind of like an aquatic version of Arabia from the Disney film Aladdin with white spires stretching to reach the sky but with shades of blue instead of gold. There were fountains and ponds everywhere with all kinds of creatures bustling between.

"Wow," said Amy, feeling kind of breathless. "Just…wow."

The Doctor laughed at her. "Bellus. The most prosperous and beautiful city on Colony World Nine and six thousand light years from Earth." The Doctor was in lecture mode. "It's one of the friendliest planets out here. Around about six hundred different species visit this planet a year and its diplomats are always in demand as they always make the best treaties."

"So, apart from the buildings, what's to see?" Amy asked curiously.

The Doctor grinned manically at her. "Why don't we go and find out?" The Doctor took her hand and they headed off towards the centre of the city.

Two cloaked figures watched them from an alley way. One stepped forward and rested a hand against the Tardis.

"He looks so young." She sighs.

Her companion moved to stand beside her but didn't say anything.

The Doctor and Amy approached the tallest tower in the city.

"Because this city has so many species, the city rulers commissioned a universal translator to be built," The Doctor dragged her up the stairs talking a mile a minute. "And so it was, but it was missing a vital component, the refractor. The scientist tried for years to make the refractor but there was always a serious flaw in the design."

He paused slightly to check that she was keeping up then continued on. "And then the largest sapphire to ever be found on this planet was uncovered, tenth largest in the universe. It was perfect in every way for the translator and even increased the effectiveness of it by five.

He stopped outside a door.

"Amy Pond, I give you…the Bellus Translator." The Doctor opened the door with a mock bow.

Breathless from the stairs, Amy stepped into the bright room. The sapphire was set in in the floor and brushed against the roof of the ten story high room. Circuitry was embedded in the floor and walls, leading from the sapphire to complicated and intricate machinery that lined the walls of the room. The sapphire itself was lit from within and coloured the room in a bluish light. A staircase wove its way along the walls of the room, opening out onto landings that were dotted along the way.

The Doctor smugly watched his companion's silent astonishment.

"So," Amy said after finding her breath. "How does it work?"

"Well, basically it works by taking the meaning of the words you are speaking and puts the meaning into the minds of the people that hear your words." The Doctor stared into the depths of the blue gem. "The refractor, the Bellus sapphire is a great conductor of psychic energy and that's what makes this machine work."

A thought struck Amy. "Does your ship have a translator?" She tilted her head at the Doctor in curiosity.

"Well…yes," The Doctor paused then elaborated. "It's a bit more complicated than this one. The Tardis gets into your head and translates for you."

"So all this time we've been travelling and the Tardis has been in my head?"

The Doctor turned to look at her fully, remembering a time when he had told a certain blond girl and her angry reaction. "Yes." He watched her, trying to judge her reaction, his expression serious. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Amy thought for a second then shook her head. "Nope."

The Doctor broke into a grin. "Good. Let's go check out the market."

They turned to leave but the Doctor turned back as the light flickered as if someone had run in front of it.

The Doctor frowned as he scanned the room. Seeing nothing, he put it down to fluctuations in the refractor and turned away to follow his companion down.

Little did he know, as he walked out of the room, that if he had turned back he would have seen that his reflection in the giant sapphire did not follow him.

His "reflection" smiled at the Doctor's back and faded from view.

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**Just a warning, I won't be updating this for a week and a half because I have my midyear exams next week. Don't worry though, the holidays are straight after, so hopefully I might get this story finished soon...fingers crossed.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yeah, okay, so I lied...I didn't mean to and I didn't know it at the time. Yes I have exams next week, yes I probably should be studying but this morning I had a double free lesson and the dust bunnies cornered me. They wouldn't let me got to lunch until I had at least written a chapter. Oh well, I could just say I'm studying for my English exam... :)**

**And on another note, thanks to all the people who have reviewed this story or added it to their favorites/story alerts. You're all legends! **

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Because of the six hundred species that visited Colony World Nine the Bellus markets were renown for the having the biggest range of items from all over the galaxy.

Amy and the Doctor were having fun browsing the wares but the Doctor was still a little uneasy about what had transpired in the translator room. Some instinct within him felt that something was out of place but he was doing his best to not spoil Amy's fun.

Three times he had seen something move out of the corner of his eyes, but when he turned to look there was nothing there.

Amy finally caught on that the Doctor was worried when he thought he saw something flicker behind him in a mirror when there was only him and Amy in the room.

He twisted around; trying to make sure nothing else was in the room with them.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked, watching him spin around.

The Doctor was silent for a minute as he looked wildly from the mirror to all around the room. "I'm not sure…something's off. Something is not right. I think something or someone might be following us." He stilled.

"So, what do we do?" Amy scanned the room, looking for any sign that there had been anybody in the room with them.

The doctor sighed. "There's not really much we can do until they reveal themselves." His manic grin reasserted itself and he grabbed Amy's hand to drag her off to the next stall. "Come on, no use waiting here. There's still three quarters of the market left that we haven't seen."

They raced off and spent the whole afternoon searching through the market. They had fun sorting through the varied items on display but there happiness was tainted with a sense of unease and wariness as they waited for their stalker to show itself.

At the end of the day the Doctor took Amy to the Sigamine hotel. It had been recommended by the owner of the last stall they had visited, and was only a street away from the Translator.

It was run by the Sigamines, who were scaly reptilian humanoids, a bit like the Silurians except they were coal black.

Amy and the Doctor found they were very friendly and brilliant cooks. They both ate more than they should of before they were shown up to their rooms.

Amy bid goodnight to the Doctor then flounced into her room and collapsed on the bed before falling into a deep sleep.

The Doctor's actions were more slow and careful as he was deep in thought and not really tired.

He lay down on the bed and stared sightlessly up at the ceiling. His uneasiness had become an annoying buzz that made him frustrated. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn't put his finger on what was wrong.

The Doctor sighed and closed his eyes, waiting for morning to come.

(...)

William Wallace was the keeper of the Translator. He maintained the machines, polished the refractor, replaced parts and monitored the signals and energy patterns.

Usually he didn't have much to worry about.

Now the machines were acting up. Unusual energy signatures had been recorded earlier in the day but now the energy was building up.

The refractor pulsed wildly as William raced from level to level, trying to figure out how to stop it.

Suddenly the light in the refractor died down to a dull glow and William collapsed in relief into a chair.

His relief was short lived. The refractor exploded in a bright light and William fell into a deep sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Idiot...*hits head against a wall* Really really REALLY should actually be studying...but I got distracted. AGAIN.**

**Ah well. This has kinda been floating around in my head for a week so it's nice to actually see it on paper. This also might be riddled with spelling mistakes cause for some strange reason I'm dyslexic today, so give me a buzz if you find any and I'll fix it. On with the show!

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All throughout the city people fell into a deep dark sleep.

The two cloaked figures stood silently outside the Sigamine hotel and looked towards the tower as they felt the people of Bellus slip into a shared dream state.

Rose Tyler removed her hood and turned to Ood Sigma who was still hidden by his.

"I'm ready." Rose said with a quiet certainty.

Sigma bowed and raised his translator ball and gently touched it to her forehead. The ball exploded with light.

(...)

The buzzing was making the Doctor restless. He got up from his bed and silently paced the room.

Stopping to look out his window which over-looked the tower that housed the Bellus translator he came to a decision.

Crossing to the door, he opened it and stepped out into the hall. He stopped outside Amy's room and quietly opened the door.

He smiled as he saw Amy was deeply asleep. He had thought about taking her with him but he didn't have the hearts to wake her. He closed the door as softly as he had opened it and continued down the hall.

Rose slipped from the shadows at the opposite end of the hall. She reopened Amy's door and slipped through.

(...)

The Doctor slipped like a shadow through the darkened streets towards the tower. Now all of his senses were telling him that something was horribly wrong.

The uneasiness had turned to dread but still he continued on. He entered the tower and seemed to take forever to climb the stairs to the room that held the refractor.

Stepping into the room he could see nothing wrong. He approached the giant sapphire and stared into it's depths.

"Beautiful isn't it?" A familiar, posh voice asked.

The Doctor jumped in surprise and whirled round to face the owner.

Standing behind him was the Dreamlord.

The Dreamlord grinned at him. "Miss me?"

The Doctor tried to cover his surprise. "Not really." He paused, sizing up the being that had been created by parasitic pollen.

The Dreamlord was the darkness inside him incarnate but he only really had the power to affect people psychically. The fact that he was standing here, out in the open, made the Doctor pause for thought.

"How are you here?" The Doctor asked his counterpart suspiciously.

"What? The Doctor in the Tardis doesn't know?" the Dreamlord teased, then he became serious. "Figure it out."

The Doctor stood stiffly and replied. "Well, at a guess," he moved aside, looking from the sapphire to the Dreamlord. "I would say that you were using the Bellus translator to project yourself out into the world."

The Dreamlord approached the Doctor and stopped just in front of him.

The Doctor withdrew the sonic screwdriver from his coat. "This should be easy to fix." He muttered and pointed it at the refractor and clicked the on button.

The sonic was ominously silent.

The Doctor sighed and put his screwdriver back into his pocket. The Dreamlord moved to stand beside him and smiled. "Figured it out yet?"

"Yep." With a feeling of dread settling over his hearts, the Doctor approached the refractor. "You've put me into a dream state."

Reaching out, he pressed his hand against the sapphire. The surface melted under his hand and soon enough, rivulets ran down the surface of the stone until it was nothing more than a puddle on the floor.

"Not just you, the whole city," The Dreamlord gloated.

The Doctor looked at him sharply. "Let them go."

"No."

"I'll stop you." The Doctor shot back with determination.

The Dreamlord chuckled. "I knew you were going to say that."

He grabbed the Doctor by the lapels, lifted him and then threw him into the dark puddle that was all that remained of the refractor.

Instead of the floor breaking his fall, the Doctor fell through the puddle, into an abyss.

The last thing he saw was the Dreamlord smiling smugly down at him, and then the image grew indistinct, like a mirror fogging up, before disappearing.

The Doctor knew he had lost.


	6. Chapter 6

**Woohoo! I'm back!**

**I'm sorry this chapter is really short but I'm trying to get back into the rhythm of this story (stupid exams). Actually, I wasn't going to write this chapter at all but Mayrose4 asked if I was going to talk about Rose's time in the parallel world and *poof* we have a new chapter.  
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**Also, I'm sort of a new to this, so if you have any hints or tips they would be very helpful (thanks to The Alternative Source) :) **

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Rose leaned against the wall, just inside Amy's room, watching the familiar but strange girl sleep.

She smiled as she remembered when she and John had first me the brave girl.

Amelia Pond had been orphaned and had no family left to take her in so the government had put her into an orphanage on her sixth birthday.

Three months later Torchwood had detected an alien disturbance and had sent Rose and John to sort it out.

An alien had broken in and the kids had been terrified. Amelia wasn't.

When Rose and John had shown up, they were surprised to find that she had managed to calm the alien.

The poor creature hadn't meant any harm but was more than a little bit lost and had panicked. So John had sent it on it's way (they had never figured out it's gender) and, after a quick discussion with Rose, decided to adopt the brave child.

Rose felt a deep ache in her heart from the memory of the little girl she had mothered. She had grown up to take Rose's place as head of Earth defence and married Rose's brother Tony. Now that had been weird.

The transition from adopted daughter to sister in law had caused a bit of a stir amongst the media. The Tyler family hadn't minded since Tony and Amy were about the same age and there had been hints of romance since the very beginning.

As Rose watched the sleeping girl who was the same but different from the girl she had raised, the loss of her John and her Amelia hit her like a tonne of bricks.

Crying silently, she crossed to the window to look out over the city. Dark clouds had gathered and snowflakes fell silently onto an unsuspecting city that had never seen snow in the history of the planet. The Dreamlord's handy work, meant to unnerve the inhabitants.

Taking a deep breathe and wiping her eyes, Rose took one more look at the peacefully sleeping girl on the bed as she crossed the room and opened the door silently.

Breathing a deep sigh at the trouble ahead of them, she pulled up her hood and slipped like a shadow into the hall, closing the door silently behind her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Holidays! Right, well. I think this chapter might have got away from me but I've had plenty of time to write it. Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter. It was good to know I made a good choice. Also, I feel I ought to warn you that this story may get a bit dark but I'm sure that if you actually watch Doctor Who you shouldn't mind it too much. Oh, and I've also gone back and re-watched the Dreamlord episode cause I felt I had made him too Masterish. It's really hard to characterize him cause there's so little material on him. Please tell me if you think I haven't got him right.  


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_Seems that I have been held, in some dreaming state  
A tourist in the waking world, never quite awake  
No kiss, no gentle word could wake me from this slumber  
Until I realise that it was you who held me under_

_Florence and the machine~Blinding

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The Dreamlord smiled at his victory. He shifted himself through the dream to the top of the Bellus Tower. He didn't walk, just willed himself there. He was, after all, in charge of this dream state. He wouldn't look as impressive if he had to walk everywhere. Not that there was anyone to see it, but he was a bit of a showoff.

In a way, the Doctor had been fighting the Dreamlord for a while now. He had existed ever since the Time war had ended.

He was the darkness that tried to smother the ninth incarnation, kept at bay by the wonderful Miss Tyler.

Rose had told the Doctor that the werewolf had said she burnt like the sun, and really, she had. She had burnt bright enough to banish the mental blackness that was the Dreamlord. He hadn't minded really.

When she was gone though, the darkness came seeping back.

He had never really been able to take direct control of the Doctor, never really had a focus. Not until the psychic pollen had given him strength and form.

He crossed to a balcony and looked out onto the slumbering city, a blanket of snow covering everything. No one else was around to see his handy work but he'd soon fix that.

The scene reminded him of one of his past victories over the Doctor. Time Lord Victorious, all of time bowing to his will, but then Adelaide just had to go kill herself and bring the Doctor to his senses.

He wondered briefly what Amy would do when she realised he was in control. There was no Rory this time to help her decide and "death" wasn't going to be the route to freedom.

No matter how many times anyone "died", and the Dreamlord was going to make sure that people were going to "die" countless times, they'd just "wake up" in another dreamstate.

Oh, what fun he was going to have!

The Dreamlord, as part of the Doctor, had encountered so many ways to kill, main, torture and/or terrify people. And now, he had the chance to try them out.

Deciding that it was time to show the inhabitants of the city their new reality, the Dreamlord looked to the sky and clapped his hands once.

(...)

"**BOOM!"**

Amy bolted upright as the thunder rumbled overhead. Taking a moment to orientate herself, she quickly hopped off the bed and ran to the window.

She was surprised to find it was snowing as the Doctor had told her that Bellus had a tropical climate. In her mind, "snow" and "tropical" just didn't fit together.

"_Notice everything!"_ The Doctor's voice echoed from her memory. Amy took another look at the scene outside.

Lights had come on in the buildings around her. Obviously the people inside had been woken by the unusual thunder clap.

Shocked faces peered down from the windows and balconies, as an adventurous few walked tentatively onto the reasonable layer of snow on the ground. It was a couple of inches thick and, from the look on people's faces, probably not a normal occurrence.

Hearing voices from the rooms and floors around her, Amy decided it was time to find the Doctor.

She hurriedly left her room and moved a short distance down the hallway to the Doctor's room.

'Doctor, are you up?' Amy called as she knocked. She stopped and waited for an answer. Getting none, she raised her hand to knock again.

'He's not in there.'

Startled, Amy twirled to face the stranger.

She stood at the end of the hall, in front of a window. Her body was turned slightly towards Amy, her eyes alight with curiosity. Her blond hair seemed to have a slight glow in the soft light of the hall and a kind smile graced her face.

'How do you know?' Amy countered, slightly suspicious of the stranger.

'I saw him leave.' The Blond woman replied softly.

'Oh.' Amy relaxed slightly and joined her by the window.

That was just typical. The Doctor would swan off, expecting to be back in five minutes but take twelve years. She wasn't going to wait that long ever again. She'd just have to find him herself.

'He wouldn't have said where he was going?' Amy questioned the Blond girl, knowing he probably hadn't, but it was worth a shot.

'Nope,' she said, popping the "p" in a peculiar way. 'But,' she continued, 'I saw him heading towards the Bellus tower.

_Ha hah, success!_ Amy crowed in her head triumphantly. She shot the girl a grateful grin and headed towards the stairs.

'Do you want me to show you the way?' Amy froze and considered the strange girl's offer. She could easily find her way to the tower; it was, after all, the tallest in the city. It would be nice to have company though and something about her made Amy curious to know more.

'Sure,' said Amy brightly. 'Lead the way.'

The girl grinned at her and made to go past her but stopped.

'I almost forgot to introduce myself. I'm Rose.' The strange girl, now "Rose", extended her hand towards Amy.

Amy shook it and, for reasons unknown, gave Rose her full name. 'Amelia. Amelia Pond.'

'Amelia, hey.' Rose stared off into the distance, lost in thought. 'Like a name from a fairytale…'

Amy shifted uneasily, suddenly reminded of the first time she met the Doctor.

'You can call me Amy, if you want.' She blurted awkwardly.

Rose snapped out of her daze, shot her another grin and clasped Amy's hand.

'Alons-y.' She called as she led her down the stairs and towards the front door.

A kind Sigamine stopped them briefly and gave Amy a warm coat. She realised that Rose had already been wearing one and found it a bit odd.

Rose noticed her scrutiny and answered the unasked questions.

'I arrived a couple of days ago from an ice planet.' She explained. 'I hadn't packed this away yet so I grabbed it.'

Amy accepted this and they moved forward, out into the cold.

(...)

The kind Sigamine, known as Unathi, had run out of coats to give the guests so she went to find more.

She had been told that the hotel stored extra clothes in one of the cupboards on the third floor.

Turning the corner, Unathi found the next hall shrouded in darkness.

_The light must have blown;_ she thought and walked straight into it.

A pile of bones hit the floor, the flesh stripped in less than a second.


	8. Chapter 8

**I am very, very, very sorry about the long wait but this chapter decided to be difficult _and_ I had holiday homework too :( Anyway, a couple of things (skip this if you don't really care about the year); Donna and Ten visited and freed the Ood in the year 4126 and they called the Doctor to them in THE END OF TIME 100 years later. I've added another 50 onto that so this story is set in the year 4276...just thought you might want to know.**

**Again, I'm really sorry about the wait, please forgive me? **

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The locals were busy looking confused but Rose seemed to take it all in her stride.

'I'm guessing you're not from here then.' Amy said to Rose as they walked down the street.

'You're guessing right.' Rose replied. 'And you're not either, are you?'

'Nope.' The two walked on in silence for a bit before  
Amy decided she wanted to know more. "So, where's home?' she asked Rose.

'An ice planet that goes by the name of Ood Sphere.'

'Ood?' Amy interrupted.

'Yep. Home to the Ood. Nice bunch of people, the Ood. A bit…odd, but very nice.'

They both laughed.

'So where's home for you?' Rose asked once she'd calmed down.

'Well, I was born on a planet called Earth.'

'I thought I heard a Scottish accent.' Rose said with a laugh. 'How'd you get out here?'

Amy hesitated slightly, unsure if she should tell her life story to a complete stranger. Rose reminded her a little of the Doctor and Amy felt she could trust her but wasn't sure. Impulsively she decided to trust her.

'Well my imaginary friend from when I was seven came back twelve years later and offered to show me the stars in his spaceship disguised as little blue box.' Amy waited for a response from Rose.

Rose stared at her. 'A little blue box? It wouldn't be called the Tardis?' Her expression was hard to read.

'Yes.' Amy was stunned. 'How did you know?'

Rose stared off into the distance as she replied. 'The Ood have stories about the Doctor and the Tardis.'

'Good stories or bad ones?' asked Amy nervously.

Rose brought her gaze back to Amy and smiled. 'Good ones. 150 years ago the Doctor and his companion Donna freed the Ood from slavery. They're very grateful.'

Amy was silent for a minute as she processed the information. She opened her mouth to ask a question but was interrupted by a small child as her ran from an alley. He slipped on a patch of ice that had formed on the pavement and fell with a crash. He immediately started bawling his eyes out.

Rose quickly but carefully picked her way over the snow and ice towards him, Amy on her heels.

'Let me have a look,' Rose said as she gathered him close to her. She quickly examined the boy.

'Is he alright?' ask a worried Amy as she hovered close to them, unsure of how to help.

Rose looked up with a small smile. 'He's going to be fine.' Noticing Amy's uncertainness, she decided to direct her onwards. 'The Bellus Tower's just over there,' she pointed at a building twenty meters away. 'Why don't you go find your friend? I'll join you later.'

Amy turned obediently and took two steps forwards then stopped and looked back. "Are you sure?' she asked, still uncertain.

'Yes. Now go.' Rose commanded softly. 'If any of the stories the Ood tell are true then he might need your help.'

Amy turned away and did as she was told. Rose watched her go and as the girl disappeared into the building she let her smile droop slightly. She really hated lying to her little girl.

'_She's not mine and she's not a little girl!'_ Rose mentally shouted at her self and ignored the painful ache of her heart. It was as if they were starting from square one all over again.

She turned her attention to the boy she was cradling and place a hand on his forehead and concentrated.

Slowly his pain eased and his hurts disappeared. She wiped the tears from his eyes as his crying stopped.

The child looked up at her with watery eyes. 'Thankyou.' He said in a quiet voice.

'That's alright.' Rose said in what she hoped was a soothing voice. 'What's your name?'

'Kapil,' he replied in his quiet voice.

Rose gave him a gentle smile. 'Hello Kapil, nice to meet you. Why were you running?'

'Because of the monsters,' was his succinct reply.

"Ah, knew it.' Rose sighed. 'Time to go find Amy.'

She stood and offered a hand to Kapil. Without hesitation he took her hand and the made their way to the tower.

(...)

The Dreamlord looked down into the puddle that housed the Doctor, gloatingly. The Doctor glared right back at him from his dark prison.

The staring match could have continued for eternity but the Dreamlord looked away as he sensed someone enter the tower.

It surprised him that someone had found him so fast as he had barely started his reign of terror.

Then he heard her. Amelia Pond, looking for her Doctor. Surprising but maybe she was smarter than he thought.

He sneered down at the Doctor. 'Looks like we have a visitor. Why don't we surprise her?'

He vanished into thin air and the Doctor stared up in horror as he saw Amy enter the room.

(...)

'DOCTOR!' Amy yelled up into the dark tower. She was climbing the staircase with some trepidation as the tower gave off an eerie vibe that made her uneasy.

She stopped outside the doorway that held the refractor like they had that morning but instead of excitement Amy felt worry. The Doctor hadn't answered her, so, perhaps Rose was mistaken and he was somewhere else. Or an evil alien got him.

_Yeah, the second one was much more likely,_ Amy though to herself. She took a deep breath, pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

It was empty. Literally empty. The giant sapphire that had dominated the room was gone.

Stepping more into the room there was a splash and Amy looked down to find a large puddle on the floor. She frowned in confusion as she remembered something.

The ancient Romans, her favourite subject, had believed that certain stones, like quartz or sapphires, were made from ice that had become so frozen that they would never melt.

Looking around the room she could see nothing to indicate that the sapphire had been removed or anything to indicate where the water had come from. Surely the refractor hadn't melted? It was made of rocks not ice so that couldn't be right.

Then again, nothing had made sense since she had woken up. Almost like a dream.

The realisation hit her like a brick. 'This is a dream.' Amy said out loud to the seemingly empty room.

'Well, that didn't take long.' The Dreamlord flickered into existence in front of her with a sly grin on his face.

Amy was startled and took a couple of steps back. 'We defeated you. How can you be here?'

'Amy, Amy, Amy,' he mocked her. 'Where the Doctor goes, I go.'

'But…how?' Amy stammered. 'Last time we saw you it was because there were those spores in the time rotor. The Doctor got rid of them so that should have been the end of you.'

He laughed at her. 'The Doctor got rid of the spores, Amy, but he could never be rid of me. All I had to do was wait until he was near a psychic transmitter that was powerful enough to support me and here I am, freed from the prisons of HIS mind.'

"_Maybe he's taking it out on us because he doesn't have a physical form…_" The Doctor's words echoed through her mind. The Dreamlord certainly seemed bitter about being trapped in the Doctor's mind and perhaps he was also bitter about not having a body. Maybe that's why he had trapped her and the Doctor in a dream. This made Amy wonder.

'I know that I'm trapped in here, but what about everyone else in the town. Are they real people?' Amy queried. 'And where's the Doctor?'

'Course they're real people and as for the Doctor…well, he's around here somewhere.' The Dreamlord's smug smile returned to his face.

'We'll stop you.' Amy started to tell him but he interrupted.

'Oh, but Amy, you're on your own. No Doctor to help you now.' The Dreamlord's smug sneer grew wider. 'Poor little Amelia Pond, all on her own. Why don't we give her some friends?'

He gestured dramatically to what Amy had assumed was machinery. She discovered she was wrong as it began to move. It stood up and she realised it was a robot. It's movements was jerky and as it moved closer she realised that the mechanisms inside it's clear case were clock work.

'Now, now, that's no way to appear when we have guests,' the Dreamlord berated the robot. 'Why don't you get some clothes on?'

The Robot suddenly looked like it was going to a 16th century masquerade ball. Amy slowly backed away to the stairs. The robot raised it's arm and a blade slid out from it's wrist.

'My advice, Amy dear, is run.' The Dreamlord watched her gloatingly, then turn to the robot. 'Get her.'

Amy turned and ran for the stairs whilst he looked on in amusement. The Robot stopped once she was out of the room and tilted it's head at the Dreamlord 'Well? What are you waiting for? Chop, chop.'

The robot pressed a hand into it's arm, activating it's teleport.

The Dreamlord rubbed his hands together and looked down at the Doctor's angry face. 'And now the fun really begins.'

(...)

Amy skipped the last two steps and tried to slow down but roughly slammed into a wall. Leaning against it she looked over her shoulder to see how far behind her the robot was.

Surprisingly she found the way behind her clear and allowed herself to relax while trying to catch her breath.

Suddenly the air in front of the stairs swirled as the robot teleported into existence. Stunned, Amy froze against the wall as it took two steps towards her and then raised it's arm to strike her.

A hand curled around hers and she looked to her side in surprise to see Rose standing beside her. Rose caught her eye and smiled.

'Run,' she commanded.

And so they did.


	9. Chapter 9

**Phew, finally got this up. It was going to be longer but every time I sat down to write something I'd be interrupted, grrr. Now, I think I'd better warn you. I don't know when I'll be able to post again as this is my last term at school so they're trying to cram what's leftover in this one term. I hope I update soon but I can't make any promises, sorry, but you never know; I tend to work better under pressure. **

**Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed last chapter; I think I've said this before but I'll say it again; YOU'RE LEGENDS! And to everyone who's read up to this chapter; You all deserve a medal for putting up with me. **

**Right, on with the show!

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**

Rose and Amy were running for the door. The boy that had slipped on the ice stood by the door, waiting for them. Without slowing down, Rose bent down and swept the boy into her arms.

Amy was impressed; it was as if Rose had practiced the move until it was perfect. She wondered how old the woman who ran beside her was. She looked about nineteen or twenty years old but some how Amy thought she was older. After all, Liz X had been 300 years old but hadn't looked older than thirty.

Rose led them through the streets. Turning a corner they found the next street crowded and skidded to a halt.

It seemed as if the whole populace of Bellus had decided to venture out into the streets.

'Perfect.' Rose breathed with a smile. She set down Kapil and turned to Amy. She flicked Amy's hood up and made sure that her red hair was covered.

Amy was strongly reminded of a mother fussing over her daughter and idly wondered if Rose had been a mother before. She mentally shook herself from her musings.

'So, what's the plan?' She asked Rose. It was odd really. She barely even new her but she trusted Rose with her life and felt like she could solve this problem. Sort of like a female version of the Doctor. She bit back a giggle.

'We use the crowd to blend in.' Rose said as she stepped back to study Amy. She nodded in satisfaction of her handy work. 'Just act like you own the place.' She gave her an encouraging smile and flicked her own hood up.

Rose turned around to lead them into the crowd but stopped and sighed. 'I'm doing it again aren't I?' She whirled to face them. 'Amy, this is Kapil. Kapil, this is Amy.' She gestured between them.

'Hi,' said Amy, slightly bewildered.

'Hello,' Kapil replied shyly.

Rose turned again and held out her hands to the other two who silently took them.

'Alons-y.' She exclaimed as she began to lead them through the crowd.

(…)

'So, why aren't you with your parents?' Amy asked Kapil as they moved through the crowd

'The droid that was chasing you got them.' He replied his face contorted slightly in pain.

'Well,' Amy started hesitantly, unsure of how to tell him that it wasn't real. 'If it helps…this is just a dream.'

'What do you mean?' He said slightly angry.

'I mean…' she paused in thought. 'That this is all created by a man called the Dreamlord. He somehow managed to take over the Bellus translator and trap us here.'

'So that means we can't trust anything here.' Rose interrupted. 'Nothing here is real.'

'So? How does this help my parents?' Kapil asked coldly.

'It means that if you 'die' here, you wake up…somewhere else.' Amy tried to explain to him.

'And how's that different from reality?' He asked.

'You die in reality you stay dead.' Rose inserted without looking back at them. _Unless your name is Captain Jack Harkness,_ she added in her head.

Amy and Kapil exchanged a glance behind her back at her odd response.

'So, how do we find them?' Kapil asked at large.

'The quickest way would be to…um…die.' Amy stuttered.

'I don't want to die!' Kapil almost shouted, causing some of the people around them to stare round at the three.

'Perhaps we don't have to.' Rose said soothingly. 'Besides, it wouldn't release us from this place.'

'So, dying is plan B then.' Amy decided.

'More like plan Z but I'm sure you get the idea.' Rose retorted and the others could hear a hint of laughter in her voice.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd screamed and people started running, trying to get away from whatever was causing the panic. A gap cleared in the crowd for a few seconds and the group saw the robot approaching, swiping the air around it.

'It found us,' Amy breathed.

'Run!' Rose commanded as she scooped up Kapil single handed and led Amy by the hand. They darted through the crowd, running flat out. Turning the corner Rose was suddenly in the dark. Kapil was suddenly lighter in her arms and Amy's hand became thin and hard in her hand.

The darkness cleared and Rose watched it as it moved along the alleyway, leaving the occasional pile of bones behind it.

Rose sighed and laid the skeletons of Kapil and Amy down gently and stood back up with a sigh.

'Plan Z it is then.' She said sadly as she disappeared like a Cheshire cat.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hiya peoples :) Sorry this chapter took so long to get up but I blame school, minesweeper and the fact I realized that some of it didn't actually make sense when I first wrote it. Hopefully it now makes sense. Tell me if it doesn't or ask me to elaborate if I have explained something to your satisfaction. I don't bite, I promise ;)**

**Anyway, here it is: enjoy!

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**

The Dreamlord was getting bored of the Vashta Nerada and the repair droids. Sure, it had been fun when everyone had been panicking but now his play things were starting to wise up to the threats.

'Right, time for a change. Let's give them something a little more challenging.' The Dreamlord smiled slightly to himself.

(…)

Amy felt warm and safe which was a little weird considering the last thing she remembered was being chased by a homicidal robot through the cold streets of Bellus.

There was a murmuring nearby which was soothing and familiar but she didn't know why. Eventually she dragged herself out of her unconsciousness to open her eyes. A blond head appeared blurrily above her and she blinked her eyes until Rose's smiling face, framed by the fur-lined hood, came into focus.

'Hello,' Amy said, slightly confused about her current situation.

'Hello,' Rose replied.

'Hello,' Amy repeated.

Rose's smile became cryptic and Amy rolled into a sitting position facing her. Looking around, Amy found that they were in a large room. There was large lettering at the top of the room, shrouded in darkness but Amy could still read what they said.

**Badwolf Corporation.**

'So, where are we?' Amy asked Rose.

'We're currently on floor 0 of Satellite Five.' Rose replied as she stroked Kapil's hair out of his face as he lay beside her. Amy felt a pang as she realised how motherly she looked. She absorbed Rose's information and found a few things missing.

'How did we get here?' Amy asked, confused. 'I don't remember how we got here.'

'Probably a good thing, that.' Rose said softly. 'You died.'

'Oh.' A few things clicked but Amy found something else to be confused about. 'How?'

'We walked into a swarm of Vashta Nerada. Stripped the flesh in milliseconds.'

'What are Vashta Nerada?' Whatever they were, Amy really didn't want to meet them again.

'A flesh eating swarm,' Rose tried to explain to Amy. 'They look a lot like shadows, although I've never known a swarm of them to get as big as the one that ate…you.' She stuttered at the end.

'Oh.' Amy said after she processed what Rose said. She sat and went back to looking at her surroundings. Other people were scattered around the room, some unconscious, some walking around.

Sweeping her gaze around the room again, Amy realised that a few more people had become scattered unconsciously around the room. Rose noticed what she was looking at.

'Looks like the Dreamlord scored a few more lives.' Rose muttered quietly to Amy and she realised that these people had died too.

A man walked past them, casting them a cursory glance. He walked a few paces stopped as his brain seemed to process something. He backtracked to them then let out a shout.

"Kapil!'

He knelt down beside the three and reached down to the boy. Kapil stirred and opened his eyes. He blinked a couple of times to get the face above him in focus.

'Dad!' Kapil shouted in recognition, and grabbed the man in a huge hug. The girls stepped back and smiled at the father and son reunion.

Eventually the father stepped back and turned to the girls. 'You looked after my boy?' He clasped their hands and continued on without waiting for an answer. 'Thank you both! I am Joktan.' He bowed with a flourish.

Rose gave him one of her Cheshire cat grins and introduced them. 'I'm Rose, and this is Amelia.'

Joktan was about to speak again when a posh voice carried around the room.

'Ah, peasant!' The Dreamlord rubbed his hands together and sneered at the startled people that huddled on the floor. 'I'm sure that some of you have discovered that you're trapped in this reality.' People moved and formed a crowd and Joktan and Kapil were separated from the girls.

The crowd broke out into murmuring which the Dreamlord quickly silenced. 'Now, now, I've come to offer a deal.'

The crowd stood expectantly before him. 'Currently you are on floor 0 of a place called Satellite Five. You may ask how this is relevant to your freedom? And I'll answer that it has everything to do with your freedom.' The Dreamlord paced across the raised platform, working his magic on the crowd. 'There are four hundred and ninety-nine floors above us. Your task, if you want your freedom, is to reach Level 500.'

'Why? What's up there?' A voice familiar to Rose spoke and her heart sank. Standing in the heart of the crowd was a tall handsome man in a Great Coat who was dear to both the Doctor and Rose.

Standing tall and proud in the center of the crowd was Captain Jack Harkness.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hm...wasn't actually going to put Jack in this story but there was a gap that needed filling and the Captain did this impressive cartwheel into the scene, jumped up and yelled 'Tah da!' and so he became part of it. Sometimes I think I'm not in control of this story at all.**

**Oh, I've also come to the decision that I'm going to write a prequel once I've finished this. If I ever finish this. In my mind Dreaming of reality was never this long but it seems to have mutated into a monster. I think we're at least halfway through...just as long as nobody feeds it. Anyway, here's the next chapter. :)**

**

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**

'Why? What's up there?' Captain Jack Harkness asked the Dreamlord.

'A good question.' The Dreamlord said in a mocking voice. 'Some say the very walls are made of gold, others claim that there is a hidden paradise, just waiting for people to colonize it. Those don't matter to you though. All that matters is that the secret to your freedom is there. You reach it and you're home free.'

The crowd began to murmur again and some even yelled questions at the Dreamlord. He laughed, a cold chilling sound that silenced them.

'Ah, peasants. If you want any more information you'll have to get to floor 500.' He clapped his hands with a flourish and promptly vanished into thin air.

'Some deal.' Amy murmured sarcastically under her breath. She knew he wouldn't make it as easy as he had made it sound.

'Uh huh.' Rose agreed absently. Her eyes were fixed on the Captain who was busy striding smoothly out of the crowd.

Amy noticed her thoughtful face and followed her gaze and noticed the beautiful man.

'What's wrong?' she asked Rose, trying to figure out why the mysterious man had her so enthralled. She instinctively knew it wasn't an ordinary attraction that held her new friend's attention.

'He shouldn't be here.' Rose replied in a cold voice that made Amy shiver.

Amy was about to ask why when Joktan and Kapil rejoined them.

'Who did that man think he is?' Joktan ranted angrily.

'He's the Dreamlord,' Rose answered. 'and I believe he's doing this because he's a bit upset about not having a physical body, to answer your next question.'

Joktan calmed himself as he processed the information she had given him.

'What do we do?' Kapil asked, unconsciously directing it at Rose.

'Well,' said a voice tinged with an American accent, 'the only way is up.' The group turned to look at the Captain who gave them one of his cheesiest grins. 'Hi.'

'Hi.' Amy answered cautiously, thinking of Rose's reaction to the man.

He directed his grin at her and introduced himself. 'Captain Jack Harkness.'

Amy hesitated before introducing everyone. 'This is Joktan, his son Kapil, Rose and I'm Amy.'

'It's pleasure to meet you all.' The Captain replied, his smile turning predatory.

Amy thought she saw Rose flinch but couldn't be sure. She decided that she needed to get more information about this strange man that, according to Rose, shouldn't be here.

'So, what are you a Captain of?'

'The innuendo squad.' Rose muttered and Amy had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. The Captain seemed to not hear Rose's comment.

'I'm a captain in the security force that protects the Bellus Translator.' He informed the group.

'Obviously didn't do a good job.' Rose muttered again which he again didn't hear or chose to ignore.

'Right, let's figure out what we're going to do.' Amy decided that she had to be the diplomatic one in this situation.

'Well, that Dreamlord guy said the only way out was floor 500, so it looks like that's where we need to go.' The Captain answered her. 'So, who here is going up?'

'We will.' Joktan asserted and Kapil nodded his agreement.

Amy looked uneasily at the Captain, then looked to Rose for some sign of what to do. Something about the Captain made her uneasy and she didn't know what to do. Rose nodded her assent of the plan.

'We will, too.' Amy pushed her shoulders back, appearing more calm and confident than she felt.

'Excellent! Shall we begin?' Jack asked the group.

'Sure. Got nothing better to do.' Amy sighed and the group headed out of the cavernous room and into the corridor.

(…)

Moving through the corridors of the station, the group came out onto an observation deck that showed a smoky planet orbiting a sun. Amy walked beside Rose who radiated tension. Recalling Rose's earlier comments about the Captain, Amy decided that she wanted to know what she meant and the others were suitably distracted with finding information on a computer terminal.

'Why shouldn't he be here?' She asked quietly, nodding her head at the Captain who was busy hacking the computer. Rose was silent for a long time and Amy almost gave up on hearing an answer.

'Captain Jack Harkness was the leader of Torchwood Cardiff in the 21st century.' Rose replied in a cryptic tone.

'So?' Amy asked confused. 'Why does that mean he shouldn't…oh.' She cut herself as she realised how far they were in the future. 'Maybe he, I don't know…time traveled or something?'

'Perhaps. He was a companion of the Doctor after all.' Rose mused, lost in thought. 'But I think that, if you asked him, he wouldn't know who you were talking about.'

'You sound like you know him.' Amy commented unthinkingly.

'I did.'

Amy stared at her. 'But…how?' she stammered.

'Like you said earlier. Time travel.' Rose laughed at the expression on Amy's face. 'The problem with it though is that you can bump into a person you know but haven't met yet. That man there doesn't seem like the Captain I know but he could just as easily not have met me yet. Or, even worse, he hasn't met the Doctor yet.'

Rose was quiet for a bit, letting Amy absorb the information when another option occurred to her and the smile slipped from her face. 'Or he could have been retconed.'

'What's that?' Amy asked curiously, knowing it wasn't good.

'Amnesia pill.'

Amy immediately understood.

The two stood in silence for awhile, watching the three men crowded around the monitor, hunting for information.

"So which one do you think it is?' Amy queried.

Again, Rose was silent and she could see her weighing up the options.

'None of them,' Rose finally answered.

'We're in!' the Captain crowed and Rose moved off to look over his shoulders at the schematics that covered the screen, leaving Amy rather confused and with more questions than answers.


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, please don't kill me. Look, I've put up two new chapters for you, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! Now, I know a lot of you are starting to get a little impatient for answers and you'll probably get to the end of this and want to kill me but I'm asking you to wait just a little bit longer. I promise I'll put some answers in the next chapter, honest. I'm starting to get a little said now cause we're nearing the end of my first story but it means you'll get your answers soon. Ah well, I'll just start another one.**

**Anyway, enough of my rambles, on with the show!

* * *

**

Someone was interfering with his plans.

The Dreamlord slumped angrily in a chair.

He could sense the psychic whispers as they tried to alter HIS creation, making it easier for his victims to escape. Moving Amy into a position of power and giving her the ability to defeat him.

This mystery person wouldn't get away with it.

'Time for a little espionage.' He chuckled evilly. He turned to the window. 'What do you think?'

The Dreamlord could faintly make out the Doctor's slumped outline amongst the stars outside, his image faint like a reflection. He glared out from underneath his fringe.

'Now, now, don't fret. I'll only be gone a little while,' the Dreamlord mocked him with a sly smirk. 'I just have to find out who is helping Amy out. You never know, you might see her soon. Call it a treat.'

He gave the Doctor one last evil grin before turning and disappearing into the ethers of the dream.

The Doctor sighed in relief and closed his eyes.

(…)

She realised he couldn't see or hear her.

The shadow of Captain Jack just looked right through her.

Rose was starting to get annoyed with the Ood for putting her in this situation.

Amy, Jack and the Doctor…It was tearing her heart apart.

The fact that the 'Captain' couldn't see her meant that he was connected to the Dreamlord somehow and the Ood were trying to protect her. What was worse, he seemed interested in Amy and not in the usual 'Captain Jack' way.

She'd have to be careful.

Looking over his shoulder she could see the schematics of satellite five up on the screen. Little lights that represented life signs moved around the screen.

'There's floor 500.' Kapil pointed out excitedly.

Amy's scrunched up her forehead in thought. 'How do we get up there?'

'There are stairs.' Joktan pointed to the zigzag pattern that was meant to be a representation of stairs.

'No, that'd take to long.' The Captain busied himself in the computer for a few minutes before he found what he was looking for. 'Ah ha, result! There's another layer to the map.'

He hit a button and new symbols appeared on the map.

'A lift!' Kapil pointed out excitedly. 'That'd get us to floor 500 really quickly.'

'Yes it would.' The Captain grinned at the little boy's excitement.

Rose decided it was time to point something out to them. 'Amy, look.' She pointed to floor 500. 'Notice anything strange?'

Amy scrunched her face in thought. 'No, there's nothing up there.' She said quietly.

'Exactly.'

It took Amy only a couple of seconds to piece it together. 'There's nobody up there!' She exclaimed loudly, drawing the attention of the boys.

They looked at her in confusion.

'Look, can't you see. Nothing is showing up there. If it's the way out wouldn't you expect there to be something registering on this?' She gestured vaguely at the screen.

'You're right!' The Captain exclaimed in what Rose decided was an unCaptain-ish way.

'Then why would that man tell us to go up there?' Joktan asked impatiently.

'He could be leading us into a trap.' Jack mused, studying the map.

'Then where are we supposed to go?' Joktan said angrily.

'Let's see…' The Captain tapped frantically at the keyboard.

The screen flickered and the small dots that represented people faded until there was only one.

'What's that?' Kapil asked curiously, pointing to the out of place dot.

'An anomaly.' Jack said distractedly. 'Something that's different from everything else. It _might_ be our way out.'

'What floor is it?' asked Joktan.

'Floor 225. We can take the lift.' Jack answered and turned with a swirl of his great coat. 'Let's go.'

Everyone stood there stunned as they took in what he had said.

'Well, let's go. Chop, chop.' Rose said with a grin and they hurried after the man. She made to follow them but paused when she heard something behind her. Something was coming.

A blue light moved through the darkness towards her and a Dalek moved silently into the light of the room.

Rose jumped back but the Dalek kept moving towards her.

Belatedly she realised that the Dalek, like everything else that was part of this dream state, couldn't actually see her.

It could see her friends though and that could be a problem.

Gathering her mental power she wiped the Dalek out of the dream. Taking one last look around, she turned on her heel and ran to catch up with the others.


	13. Chapter 13

The Captain slowed to a halt in the hallway. 'It should be around here…' He muttered distractedly.

Amy, Kapil and Joktan looked around but all they could see was the walls of the hallway.

'What exactly are we supposed to be looking for?' Amy questioned him with her hands on her hips. She found it odd that he knew what he was looking for. She couldn't say how she knew but something felt off about him, like he was wearing someone else's skin.

The Captain moved to a wall and knocked along it until it sounded hollow.

'Here.' He said decisively before attempting to pry off the panelling.

'What's he trying to do?' Rose's voice asked behind Amy and she jumped in shock. Rose looked apologetically at her before continuing. 'He not going to get that off in a million years.'

'Well apparently the elevator is behind there so we need to get through.' Amy explained.

Rose looked thoughtful for a moment before deciding to share what was on her mind.

'We're in a dream state, right? Have you ever wondered how that works?'

'What do you mean?' Amy asked her, curious to what she was getting at.

'Couldn't we just think the elevator open?'

'I don't think it works that way.' Amy said in surprise. 'The Dreamlord controls…this,' she gestured around to show what she meant. 'We have no choice over what happens.'

Rose frowned. 'Are you sure? In most dreams you get some choice.'

'Yes, I'm sure. Last time the only choice we got to make was over which dream was realit-' Amy stopped as an idea hit her. She turned to Rose, stunned. 'We were too busy trying to figure out which dream was real to figure out how it worked.'

Rose looked off into the distance as she continued the train of thought. 'We get to choose where we g in this. Perhaps, if we concentrate hard enough, we could get that panelling to open.'

Amy looked over at Jack, who had been joined by Kapil and Joktan, as he tried to unsuccessfully pry the panelling off. 'Beats doing it the old fashioned way.'

Rose and Amy grinned at each other.

'So, how do we do this?' Amy asked her.

'Well I guess we just concentrate on it opening…and then "open sesame!"' Rose exclaimed, which made Amy laugh.

A metal grinding sound as the panel slid aside stopped her though.

'See,' the Captain panted. 'Told you it was there. All it needed was a bit of old fashioned elbow grease.'

Amy and Rose shared a look while trying not to laugh.

'Come on you lot,' Jack continued. 'We've got some where to be.'

They all stepped through into an elevator and stood slightly nervously as the doors closed and the Captain hesitantly chose the button for floor 225.

'Onwards and upwards.' Rose murmured quietly so only Amy could hear.

(…)

The elevator ride was an extremely long, tense affair.

They all stepped out of the small compartment very relieved. Of course the Captain had to spoil it.

'That seemed way too easy.'

The others sobered up instantly.

'Yeah, it was.' Amy agreed quietly.

By silent agreement, they started walking down the hall, following the Captain who had memorised where they needed to go.

Eventually they came to a bulkhead that blocked them from the room they needed.

'How are we supposed to get through there?' Kapil exclaimed.

The Captain walked over to the control panel by the door. Examining it, he somehow pulled out a couple of wires and was about to put them together when he stopped and asked the group a question. 'Are we ready?'

Everyone looked at each other then nodded at the Captain.

'Right, here goes.' He muttered as he brought the wires together.

A small beep issues from the control box and then there is a grinding sound as the bulkhead slides open.

The Captain rushes over to join the group as they hold their breath in collective anticipation.

When it was fully open and nothing dangerous had rushed out to attack them, the Captain took a hesitant step forward.

When nothing bad happened he became more confident and led them into the room beyond.

It was spacious, dark and mostly empty.

In the centre of the room stood the Doctor.

Multiple chains wound around his body and were attached to the walls, keeping him in place.

Slowly he raised his head to look at the group.

He grinned at Amy. 'Did you miss me?'


	14. Chapter 14

**Just a short chapter today, as I've decided the next bit is going to be a flashback and I thought it would look neater if I separated them into chapters. As promised you finally get an answer, what it is you'll just have to find out for yourself. As for Laugh-out-loud-27's idea, I was originally going to put that earlier on in the story but that plan died a sudden firery death. I've managed to resurrect part of it though so don't be too disappointing in me. Again, I'm really sorry for the (almost) two month break but I had no control over that as all my subject teachers decided they didn't think we were going to finish in time. Not. Cool. Dave.**

**Anyway, ON WITH IT!

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'Did you miss me?' The Doctor gave Amy a tired smile and she made to rush over to him but a hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks.

Looking back she saw that the hand was attached to the Captain and she struggled to escape to the Doctor's side.

'Calm down!' he said loudly. 'Think about this carefully. He might not be your…friend.' Jack tried to explain.

'He's right.' Rose said in a quiet voice, laying a gentle hand on her other shoulder. 'This was way too easy.'

'But it has to be him.' Amy struggled against them in a futile effort to get free.

'AMELIA JESSICA POND, YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!' Rose yelled suddenly which made Amy pause in shock.

Of course the Captain couldn't here all this and started his own rant just after Rose finished. 'YOU DON'T GET IT! THIS ISN'T THE DOCTOR!'

Rose and Amy turned to him and were just about to ask what he meant when the 'Doctor' cleared his throat and they all turned to look at him.

'Just like you aren't Captain Jack.' He gave the group a smirk that seemed a little on the evil side. 'Congratulations, Doctor. I wasn't aware you had escaped my little prison that I made for you.'

Both the Captain's and the Doctor's forms wavered, the chains vaporising into thin air, until the real Doctor stood in the Captain's place and the Dreamlord in the fake Doctor's former prison.

'Well it's too late now, neither of you can stop me.' The Dreamlord sneered at them.

'They might not be able to, but I can.' Rose said softly and the Doctor and the Dreamlord turned in sync to face her.

'What?' The Doctor exclaimed quietly in disbelief, at the same time the Dreamlord muttered, 'Impossible.'

The Dreamlord turned angrily to his enemy.

'I'm supposed to be the Dreamlord here. I rule this. Why don't you stick to being the Lord of Time!' He shouted at the Doctor.

'It's not…I didn't…I'm not…doing this.' The Doctor stuttered back. 'This is COMPLETELY impossible!'

'What's going on?' Amy asked the two, bewildered. 'It's just my friend Rose.'

'That, Amy dear, is where He sees the problem.' Rose smiled at her. Then she raised her hand, clicked her fingers and the room vanished in a flash of light.'


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, this chapter didn't turn out exactly as expected. It was supposed to be a flashback but I couldn't get it to work so I've spent the last couple of weeks rewriting it and I'm still not sure about parts of it. On the plus side it's sort finished, there's just a epilogue to go, yay! It looks like I'll be writing a sequel and and a prequel to this...sometime after November.

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The Doctor blinked as the room vanished in a flash of light. Upon opening his eyes he found himself back in the refractor room with the Dreamlord and Rose.

The refractor towered above them in all its unmelted glory.

Whirling around he realised what was missing.

Amy.

Whirling back, he looked back and forth between the only other two people before settling his gaze on Rose. 'Where's Amy?'

'She and the Bellusians are back in their heads, sleeping soundly.' She answered him, her eyes flickered in the direction of the Dreamlord. 'Most of them won't remember what happened here tonight and those that do will just shake it off as a dream.'

The Dreamlord shot her a small, defeated grin. 'You always saw through me, didn't you?'

Rose folded her arms and smiled slightly back at him. 'Always.'

He chuckled while the Doctor looked bewildered between them.

The Dreamlord grinned at his confusion. 'When I say me I mean us.' He clarified.

'What do you mean? I'm not you, I could never be you.' The Doctor shot back angrily.

'But he is you.' Rose said calmly. 'He's a part of you, always has been since I met you.'

The Doctor thought about this and found that she was right.

'I believe you're right.' He admitted with a sigh. He directed his next question at the Dreamlord. 'But why all of this? Why do you keep on taking over?'

'I got bored.' The Dreamlord admitted, slightly embarrassed. 'The first time it was only because the pollen was fueling me, shaping your crueler side. Although, the part that likes playing tricks was also included in that.' He smiled slightly. 'In the end it's like playing a game against your self. You can't bring yourself to let your better side lose.'

'But what about all those people? What about Amy and Rory?' The Doctor asked him, trying to understand, missing the look of intrigue on Rose's face.

'I would've put them back!' The Dreamlord exclaimed. 'Just like Rose did. They wouldn't have remembered.'

'Right…'The Doctor looked unconvinced.

'I am a part of you.' The Dreamlord sighed. 'I may be made from your bad side but I also have a little of your good side. I would never, could never, do something that could potentially cause permanent harm to anyone, especially our companions.'

'Can I ask something?' Rose interrupted. 'Who's Rory?'

'Amy's fiancé.' The Doctor replied distractedly. 'He got absorbed by a crack in time so nobody remembers him anymore.'

'Oh.' She backed away from that subject quickly.

'Actually,' The Doctor whirled to face her. 'How are you here?'

'The Ood decided you needed help, so here I am.'

The Dreamlord and the Doctor shared a brief look. 'Again, how?'

'They pulled me across from the alternate reality.' She looked away but not before the Doctor saw a faint trace of pain flash across her features.

'What about…' The Doctor trailed off, not knowing what name his human clone had taken.

'John.' She supplied him. 'He…died.'

'I'm sorry.'

'Don't be. He had a good life.' She gave him a weak smile. 'Sixty good years in total.'

'That's good…wait, sixty?' The Doctor looked at her shocked. 'You don't look a day over 20.'

'Yeah, the Ood did something.' Rose didn't really want to talk about it.

'So that would make you…?' The Dreamlord interrupted, curious to know.

'103ish. Extremely old…for a human.' She said with a laugh.

The Dreamlord and the Doctor looked stunned by her age.

'Come on, it's not that bad.' She laughed at them. 'You're nine hundred and something years old.'

'No, I suppose it's not.' The Doctor replied with a wry grin. 'So, the Ood want you to help me. How?'

'Well…' Rose took a deep breath before continuing. 'Somehow I'm either supposed to separate you or combine you two together.'

They were silent for a long moment, before the Dreamlord stepped forward.

'I'm nothing without him.' He gestured hesitantly at the Doctor. 'I guess you'll have to combine us together, if you will allow it.'

The Doctor stared at him, contemplating his actions. 'Yes.'

'So we're agreed?' Rose asked them.

'Yes.' They replied simultaneously.

'Good.' She smiled brightly at them. She stepped towards them until she stood just in front of them. 'Are you ready?'

They nodded and she raised her hands and placed her left in the center of the Doctor's chest, between his hearts, and her right on the Dreamlord's chest.

'Let go.' She murmured to them and the Doctor and the Dreamlord started to glow, their forms dissolving into globes of light.

She held them, their souls, in her hands. Gently she brought her hands together and the two souls merged into one.

She cradled the newly remade soul in her hands and smiled in amazement.

Around her the dream state started to dissolve and she knew it was time to dive backing to the real word.

Carefully she sent the Doctor's soul back to his body before making her way back to hers.

(…)

The Doctor opened his eyes to the semidarkness of his room and smiled. He got up and crossed to the window.

The shades of night were slowly, but steadily, retreating away from the horizon and, as he watched, the sun crept over the horizon.

A sudden knock on the door startled him. 'Doctor!'

Opening the door, he found Amy on the other side. She tackled him into a hug.

'The Dreamlord…' Amy murmured into his shoulder.

'Is gone.' He told her and patted her back soothingly. He pulled away to look her in the eyes. 'Come on, breakfast.'

He took her hand and led her down stairs to the restaurant.

(…)

The Doctor stopped in the doorway and surveyed the tables.

'What are we looking for?' Amy asked him confused.

He stilled for a moment and then turned to face Amy with a broad grin on his face. 'Her.'

The Doctor pointed towards a table and Amy looked towards it.

Two people sat at the table. One wore a hood that covered his face, the other was…Rose.

Her coat was draped over the back of the seat as she sat in conversation with the other. Suddenly she looked over at them and her face broke into a huge smile.

The Doctor dragged Amy between the tables and Rose stood to meet them.

He let go of Amy's hand and opened his arms wide to hug Rose.

They embraced wordlessly and held onto each other for a long time.

Eventually Amy coughed to get their attention and they broke apart. The Doctor rested his forehead against Rose's.

'I was scared that it was all just a dream and you weren't really here.' He said gently to her.

'I'm here. She smiled and rested her hand against his face.

Amy coughed again and they broke again apart with a laugh and turned to her.

'Will you join us for breakfast?' Rose asked them.

The Doctor and Amy shared a look. 'Of course.'

(…)

'So you used to travel with the Doctor?' Amy asked Rose. 'But why didn't he recognise you in the dream?'

'That was our doing, Miss.' Ood Sigma answered her from across the table. 'We protected her from the sight of the Dreamlord but this had the side affect of hiding her from the Doctor.'

Amy quickly decided that the too polite voice that the Ood produced was creepy. The Doctor had assured her that they were a very peaceful race.

'Why did you leave?' Amy asked bluntly.

'I got trapped in an alternate reality.' Rose gave a dry chuckle. 'Not really much of a choice.'

Amy was about to ask another question when the Doctor interrupted.

'I just remembered!' He exclaimed loudly. 'Martha and Mickey got married!'

'Really? Shame I missed that.' Rose smiled broadly.

'Well…' The Doctor gave her a sly smile. 'We could always go back and see it.'

'We could too. Imagine the look on their faces when we turned up.' Rose laughed.

'I regret to inform you that you will have to attend the wedding at a later point in your timelines.' Sigma informed them.

Rose sighed. 'Unfortunately he's right. I have things to do and you have mysteries to solve.'

'What! Why can't you come with us?' Amy cried.

'What "things" could be more important than traveling with us?' The Doctor felt slightly put out.

'Well for one thing, I've already had my turn in the Tardis; it's Amy's turn now.' Rose smiled at Amy, silencing her objections with a look. 'And I also want to find a way to help restore Donna.'

'Who's Donna?' Amy asked, feeling slightly confused with all the different names.

'She's…' The Doctor looked for the right words to describe her.

'An old friend.' Rose supplied.

'John told you what happened.' Rose confirmed the statement with a nod of her head. The Doctor looked into the distance with sad eyes. 'I don't think you'll find anything that'll help her.'

'You think you're so clever!' Rose laughed at him as he pretended to be hurt.

'But I am!'

'So you keep saying spaceman.' Rose said with a straight face.

Amy had decided to take a drink of water at that moment and had to fight to swallow it instead of spraying it all over the table. The Doctor just laughed and Rose joined in.

(…)

The group of four slowly made its way back towards the Tardis. Amy darted from store to store under the watchful gaze of Sigma while Rose and the Doctor talked.

'There are other reasons you're not coming with us, aren't there?' The Doctor asked her quietly.

'Yep.' Rose popped the p like his previous body used to. 'It's mainly because of the time lines. I go with you now, I screw them up and set fire to them.'

'Ah. Can't have that now, can we?'

'Nope.'

They were silent for a while as they watched Amy flit from shop to shop.

'I will travel with you eventually.' Rose spoke, trying to reassure him. 'It's just…not my time at the moment. Besides, you're busy trying to sort out her.' She nodded in Amy's direction.

'How did you…never mind.' The Doctor knew better than to ask. 'You sound almost like River.'

'Spoilers.' The Doctor shuddered at the almost perfect imitation while Rose laughed at his discomfort.

'You know something.' He accused her.

'I might.' Rose teased back.

The Doctor sighed in defeat. 'Spoilers, am I right.'

Rose just smiled.

Arriving at the Tardis, the Doctor and Rose stopped and stared at each other for a moment.

'I guess this is goodbye...again.' The Doctor said quietly.

'Seems it is.' Rose agreed, before pulling him into a hug.

Eventually they parted and the Doctor cast a last, longing look back over his shoulder as he entered the Tardis.

Rose smiled sadly at him. 'This isn't the end.'

'I know.' He turned and retreated into the Tardis, away form the heartache.

Amy gave Rose a huge hug and then pulled back in what Rose recognized as her 'interrogation' pose.

'Back in the dream...I know you know some stuff but...how did you know my middle name?' Amy stuttered.

'Ah.' Rose seemed a bit stumped by that question. 'The only way I can answer that is...spoilers.'

Amy drew in a surprised breath. 'Do you know River Song?'

'Yes and no.' Rose replied cryptically. She hugged Amy again before releasing her with a gentle push towards the Tardis.' Off you go, the Doctor's waiting.'

Amy smiled before stepping into the Tardis and gently closing the door.

Rose and Sigma watched it dissipate into the time vortex.

Rose let out a heavy sigh. 'Guess I better get started then.'

Nodding to Sigma, she pulled out a vortex manipulator and disappeared from sight.

* * *

**A.N. Okay, so that's it, only the epilogue to go...unless I rewrite this which I might. I'm not entirely happy with this ending but...I'll see what you guys have to say**.


	16. Epilogue

**Okay, so the first part of this is mostly the same as the end of the last episode of season 5 (The big bang) but I have made some changes that you might find interesting. I was going to post this earlier but I got a chest infection :( Anyway, today is a day for finishing things (it was my last day of school) so I hope you like this and I'll see you later.

* * *

**

'Did you dance?'

The Doctor paused, ready to unlock the door of the Tardis.

'Well, you always dance at weddings don't you?'

He turned to face River Song. 'You tell me.'

'Spoilers.' River looked back towards the house. 'It's a shame really. Rose should have been here to see her little girl all grown up. Again.'

'What?' The Doctor asked, a little bit stunned. River winked at him and he knew he wasn't going to get anymore out of her. He took a couple of steps towards her. 'Writing's all back but I didn't peek.'

He handed her the blue Tardis diary which she folded under her arm so she could attach the vortex manipulator to her wrist.

'Thank you.' She told him quietly.

'Are you married River?'

'Are you asking?'

'Yes.' The Doctor watched her closely.

'Yes.' River answered him.

The Doctor then realised that he didn't know what she meant.

'No, hang on.' He stuttered. 'Did you think I was asking you to marry me or-or-or asking if you were married?'

'Yes.' River replied somewhat cryptically.

'No-but-was that yes or yes?'

'Yes.' She whispered at him with a smile.

The Doctor gave up on that line of questioning. 'River…who are you?'

River's face fell as she answered. 'You're going to find out very soon now, and I'm sorry,' she paused. 'But that's when everything changes.'

She pushed a button on the vortex manipulator and was gone.

The Doctor stared at where she'd been.

'Nah.' He said quietly to himself before turning back towards the Tardis.

(…)

Sensing someone watching her, Amy craned her neck to look behind her.

Rose stood on the sidelines. She was smiling at the lucky couple.

Amy grabbed Rory's hand and dragged him over to her. Rose took a few steps out to meet them, embracing Amy in a hug. 'Congratulations.'

'Uh, Amy…who is this?' Rory stood awkwardly behind her.

Amy pulled back to make introductions. 'Rory, this is Rose. Rose this is Rory, my…husband.' She stuttered over the last word, almost calling him her fiancé.

'Pleased to meet you.' Rose smiled broadly at him.

'Likewise.' Rory relaxed a little and smiled back.

'Have you talked to the Doctor?' Amy asked.

'No, he's already slipped back to the Tardis.' Rose said with a sigh.

Amy gathered up her dress slightly, preparing to storm off to find the Doctor.

'You know the Doctor too?' Rory asked.

'Yes.' Rose watched amused as Amy stalked off to corner the Doctor.

'Are you like River.' Rory asked curiously, looking after Amy distractedly.

Rose tilted her head slightly as she considered his question. 'Sort of, yeah.'

'Anyway, it was nice to meet you.' Rory made to follow after his wife but Rose stopped him with a light hand on his shoulder.

'Take this. It's a…wedding present.' Rose handed him a box. 'Now go, before he leaves you behind.'

Rory smiled at Rose. 'Thank you.'

Rose smiled as she watched him run off to catch up with Amy and the Doctor. Turning away, she walked out a door and disappeared in a flash from her vortex manipulator.

**THE END**

(well at least for this story)

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing. If you've managed to keep up with my scrambled mind congratulations cause I don't think I did. You all deserve medals.**

**There will be a sequel and a prequel. The prequel doesn't have a title yet but the sequel does (Tall Kings, Brave Lions) **

**I'm also taking a break from fanfiction in November because I have exams and I have also decided to do the Nanowrimo so I'll be busy with that plus anything else life decides to throw at me.**

**Now, a few people have asked me if(in my story world at least) Rose is River. I think my theory is really weird and is most likely wrong but I don't care :P**

**I have here a couple of quotes from River that made me go 'hang on, that sounds familiar';  
**

**_I dated a Nestene duplicate once. Swappable head. Do keep things fresh. _**(The big bang)

**_I trust that man to the end of the universe and actually, we've been._** (Forrest of the dead)

**The first one applies to Rose(go back to the very first episode of season one) but the second one applies to Martha. ("Utopia"). I did have a couple more that refered to other companions but I can't remember them.**

**Basically, I think she's been put together from the other companions for who knows what reason.**

**Anyway, that is my weird theory, feel free to tell me I'm wrong or that I'm an idiot.**

**Well, that's it folks.**

**See ya round :)**

**Saph.  
**


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